Neutropenic enterocolitis in a patient with colorectal carcinoma: unusual course after treatment with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin--a case report

Abstract

Background: Neutropenic enterocolitis is observed in approximately 25% of patients with acute leukemia, but has been reported rarely in patients with solid tumors. If treatment is not initiated promptly, the mortality is high. The incidence of this disease is rising in patients with hematologic malignancies. Increasing numbers of patients with solid tumors are subject to high dose chemotherapy regimens or new drugs known to cause severe neutropenia. Therefore, the frequency of this disease can be expected to increase.

Methods: The authors report a patient with colorectal carcinoma who developed neutropenic enterocolitis after treatment with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin.

Results: The patient developed the typical clinical picture of abdominal pain, diarrhea, and neutropenia. The course was complicated by a recurrence of symptoms after initially successful antibiotic therapy without the patient receiving further chemotherapy.

Conclusions: This case indicates that neutropenic enterocolitis may occur in patients with colorectal carcinoma receiving 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin.